Arabtec delays US $1.1bn UAE projects

Arabtec Holding, the region’s largest listed contractor, has delayed or suspended its UAE projects worth US $1.1 billion (AED4 billion) its chief financial officer has said.

Ziad Makhzoumi, speaking on Al Arabiya television yesterday, said the firm’s projects in Saudi Arabia would help balance its losses at home.

"The projects that have been suspended, frozen or delayed are worth AED4 billion," he said. "That is in all of the Emirates, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

"At the same time we have begun work in Qatar, and we are getting into Saudi Arabia, so what has gone down in the first quarter will be made up for in the second quarter.”

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FEATURED COMMENT I don't understand - I thought Arabtec was a contractor, therefore, why say it "has delayed or suspended its UAE projec   1 Comments Read more comments »

The company’s subsidiary, Arabtec Construction LLC, announced earlier this week that it had broken ground on its first project in Saudi Arabia.

The sub contract, awarded by Saudi Binladin Group, is for the construction of 46 buildings in the Princess Noora Abdul Rahman University in Riyadh, worth about US $408 million.

On Monday, Arabtec announced consolidated profits of US $44 million and consolidated revenues of $510 million for the first quarter of 2009 – a decline of 30% for the first quarter.